By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC shoutout is sent along to Bill Mason, one of the smiling faces that greet members who workout at the Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center.  When his shift concludes, Mason heads to Quinnatisset Country Club for a round of golf with friends or goes home and cares for his bees.

The Day Kimball Hospital Golf Classic, which was played on Monday, July 11, greeted new Development Director Kristen Willis with a great welcome gift.  This year’s event, the 32nd in the history of the Classic grossed more than $80,000, a great start for Willis as she begins her career at Day Kimball.

The tourney, which was contested at Connecticut National Golf Club and Quinnatisset Country Club simultaneously, concluded with the awards presentations and dinner at the Raceway Golf Course in Thompson.  More than 50 foursomes participated with proceeds benefiting upgrades to facilities and technology at the hospital.

“Day Kimball Hospital is our nonprofit community hospital and as such it’s so important to have the community support. It was wonderful to see so many across our community come together to support this important cause, from our sponsors, to those who participated in the tournament, to the dozens of volunteers and committee members who gave so generously of their time and effort,” said Willis.

Separate winners were honored from each course in the gross and net categories.  The winners at Quinnatisset Country Club were the powerful foursome of Ray and Seth Morissette, Mike Jezierski and Paul Leduc, posting a score of 59 at 13 under par.  Chris Chaplin, Bob Desimone, Mike Talbot and Mark Longhi were second with an identical score of 59 and lost on matching cards.  Perennial championship contenders Rene Morin, Tom Harney, Don St. Onge and Bill Poirier were third with a score of 6o. 

Phillip and Dave Warzecha, Shane Wilcox and Steve Skinner were the net winners at Quinnatisset, beating second-place finishers Jeff Low, Dave Gage, Robert Folz and John Williams.  The show spot was won by Bob Darigan, Curtis Rodowicz and Sander and Jeff Blinderman.

The CT National championship foursome was Roger Noll, Sean Vigue, Scott Vose and Dustin Haddad with a 17 under par 54.  They rolled past second-place finishers Mike Favreau, Brian Ravenelle, Mike Jaromoski and Mike Geer by three strokes.  Kevin Plouffe, Derrik Brown, Jason Ellis and Shaun O’Brien were third with a score of 59.

The net winners at CT National were James Daddario, Steve and Bob Lemire and Matthew Calkins, followed by Bob Trinque, Warren Scholl, Earl Harris and Dick McCarthy in second place.  Kathy Nicholson, Roger Mercier, Bob Chenail and Kevin Johnston were third.

A highlight of the Classic was a hole-in-one by Bill Almon on the par-3, 7th –hole.

USA Gold for Diallo…

Putnam Science Academy standout guard Hamidou Diallo is having a summer that most young basketball players dream of.  Diallo has been playing in showcase tournaments throughout the country.  His play has caught the eye of some of the top college coaches in the nation.  Thanks to his fine play, Diallo was selected to play on the USA Basketball U-18 national team.

The team, which was comprised of many of the nation’s top 17-year olds, won the FIBA Americas Championship on Saturday, July 23.  The Gold Medal game saw Team USA hold off Canada in a 99-84 victory.  The contest was competitive to the very end.  The team which, is coached by Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth University, had previously beaten China by a lopsided score of 106-57.

Diallo, who provided some of the most explosive highlights of the tournament, had 14 points and six rebounds in the victory over Canada.  Diallo was described by some at courtside as the best athlete in the tournament.  The 6-foot, 5-inch wing has declared as a member of the 2017 college class.  He’s being hotly pursued by two of the top teams in the country, Duke and the University of Kentucky.  RPC says, “Don’t rule out the University of Connecticut and coach Kevin Ollie.”

Quinny Member-Member 

Results… 

Kevin Makie and Luke Spahl ran away with the Quinnatisset Country club Member-Member Tournament that was contested over July 23 and 24.  The twosome of Makie and Spahl beat second-place finishers Luke Milanese and Andrew Grzyb by three strokes, 139 to 142.  Third place went to Rocky Bedard and Mike Bernier with a 36-hole total of 146.

The 2nd Flight winners were the Danielson twosome of Gene Blain and Charlie Panteleakos with a score of 149, followed by Ryan and Randy Morse one stroke off the pace at 150.  Paul Archer and George Tsanjoures were in the show spot at 151.

Two longtime Quinny members, Scott Cohen and Lou Poole were the top twosome in the 3rd Flight with a 147 tally for the two days.  They were followed by the former CSP pair of Paul Roy and Willie Davis at 152, while Derek Hoss and Alex Butensky were third at 153.  The 4th Flight belonged to Chris Katralis and Marc Allard who came in at 157 three strokes better than runners-up Jordan Lamothe and Seth Semmelrock at 160.  Stu Cathell and Dave Kelly posted an identical 160 but finished third on matching cards.

A pair of legends, Paul Wong and John McCormac won the 5th Flight with a 36-hole score of 159.  They were followed by Ed Langway and Lou Labonte at 161 and Bob Viens and Bob Mondor at 164.

The female competition went to the sister-in-law pair of Dee St. Onge and Anne Kelly with a score of 154.  They were trailed by Paula Lajeunesse and Jackie Cournoyer in second place and grandma Gale Garceau and granddaughter Roxanne Garceau in the third slot.

Closest-to-the-pin winners were Anne Kelly on the 3rd-hole, Butch Smith (7th), Dave Andrews (13th) and Katralis (15th).

Late Season Tourney…

Anyone looking for a scramble tournament to play in, while supporting a great cause, should contact Kelley Rochefort at 860.208.0141.  Rochefort is organizing the Burke Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament that will be contested on Monday, August 15 at Quinnatisset Country Club.  Registration begins at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start at 10 a.m.  The entry fee is $110 per player.

The proceed of the tourney go to fund the Elizabeth Burke Memorial Nursing Scholarship, the Kevin “Spyder” Burke Memorial Criminal Justice Scholarship, the Quinebaug Valley Community College Burke Memorial Scholarship and the St. James School Student/Family Education Fund.

In addition to Rochefort information can also be gotten from Jack Burke 860.377.3654, Michael Burke 774.259.9103 or Coleen Guari 860.234.0970.  Checks should be made out to Burke Memorial Scholarship Fund and mailed to Rochefort at 82 Laurel Drive, Dayville, CT 06241.

Congratulations Ace…

Belated congratulations to Ed Langway who aced the Par-3, 7th-hole at Quinnatisset Country Club on Saturday, June 26.  Langway used his trusty 7-iron for the shot, which measured 110-yards.  His career shot was witnessed by playing partners Earl Martel and Paul Durand, who are still waiting for their celebratory free drink.

RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”  Albert Einstein

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